Opal is Co-Producer and Shorts Producer at POV. Her first season curating POV Shorts won the 2020 IDA Award for Best Short Form Series. Previously she was Shorts Programmer and Director of Artist Development at DOC NYC and Senior Programmer at Athena Film Festival. Prior to that, Opal also worked with Nantucket Film Festival, Aspen ShortsFest, Tribeca Film Festival and IFP. She is a Programming Consultant for the March on Washington Film Festival. Opal has served on juries for SxSW, HotDocs, Cleveland, Milwaukee and Seattle International Film Festivals and IndieMemphis Film Festival among others. Opal has participated on various selection committees for film programming and grants.

Caryn Coleman is a film programmer and the founder of The Future of Film is Female where she manages their Short Film Fund and curates all programming including the ongoing series at the Museum of Modern Art. Previously, Coleman was the Director of Programming/Special Projects at Nitehawk Cinema where she was the Director of the annual Nitehawk Shorts Festival and head of department programming (2013 - 2021). She received the 2012 Creative Capital/Warhol Foundation Art Writers Initiative grant for her blog The Girl Who Knew Too Much and has organized conversations for the Art House Convergence, Athena Film Festival, Connective Conversations for the Ford Foundation at the University of Oregon, The Gotham (IFP), Nightstream, and the CAA.

Brian earned his MFA in Creative Producing at DePaul University in Chicago and his BA in Digital Journalism and Communication, Media, and Film at the University of Windsor in Canada. As Manager of Strategic Partnerships and Engagement at Full Spectrum Features, Brian is charged with making sure its films are supported with powerful, attention-grabbing social impact campaigns and appearances in film festivals, educational institutions, and community organizations. With experience in both community and business development, he knows how to pull all the players and pieces together.

Colleen is the Exhibition & Outreach Manager at Women Make Movies, the largest distributor of films by and about women in the world. She has been with the organization for 5 years and is responsible for coordinating screenings for all films in the WMM catalog as well as managing the outreach efforts for each project. She is passionate about helping filmmakers get their work in front of audiences that is both meaningful and impactful for the filmmaker and the community. She is thrilled to be working with a feminist organization that not only aids in the production of current film projects, but also acts as a living & ever-growing archive for female directors with its vast distribution catalog.

Shana Swanson is an Emmy Nominated Producer. She is currently a Supervising Producer for ITVS where she is charged with managing multiple independent documentaries and providing editorial feedback on cuts. Many of her programs air on the PBS series Independent Lens and POV and run at major film festivals around the world such as Sundance, Tribeca, Berlinale and Hot Docs. She has served as panelist and reviewer for several organizations and filmmaking labs including New Orleans Film Society, BAVC, California Humanities Council and Film North's Socially Conscious and Inclusive Filmmaking Lab.

Verdi is an award-winning filmmaker from Philadelphia. He founded and runs a film funding company called The Film Fund (thefilmfund.co), which has been featured by Sundance Institute, Tribeca Film Institute, Film Independent, and more. He also writes, directs, and produces films of his own or for corporate clients. His short film “Son of Blackbeard” can be watched at thomasverdi.com, and he is currently in post-production of his latest black comedy short film, “The Toms.”